Female volleyball team left in limbo

The key player of Vietsovpetro female volleyball team Dinh Tra Giang has sent a moving letter to the company’s management board to seek their help for difficulties facing the members of their team.

By the end of 2013, leaders of Vietsovpetro completed the merging of the team with the Sai Gon-Thai Binh Duong team. However, all of 17 players, including Dinh Tra Giang, have yet to receive their salaries from Vietsovpetro.

Under the transfer agreement, players were to be sent to HCM City for training and would not be liable for any fees. The former team policies were to remain in place after the merger. Vietsovpetro promised to develop the team into a strong rival to compete with Binh Dien Long An and VietinBank rivals.

However Vietsovpetro has not terminated this contract, but at the same time they have not signed contracts with Sai Gon-Thai Binh Duong. Their subsidies have also been cut. In response, the players have sent two letters to Vietsovpetro, but they have not received a reply.

Many of them have to pool money together just to buy instant noodles. On behalf of the team, Dinh Tra Giang wrote an open letter to General Director of Vietsovpetro, Tu Thanh Nghia, on Facebook pleading for help.

Giang said that all of the team players are from the north, but now have no salary to live on. She also said that she does not want to see the team dissolved. Giang hoped that many people would read her letter, which lists the problems the team for Mr. Nghia.

The letter ends with the words “Please, help us”.

Flying dragon stadium to host Da Nang matches in 2015

SHB Da Nang will make themselves at home in a new 20,000-seat Hoa Xuan Stadium in the Hoa Xuan Sport Complex from 2015.

The new stadium, which covers on an area of 10.2ha and cost VND281 billion (US$10.3 million), is scheduled to finish construction this December.

Da Nang will leave behind their current Chi Lang Stadium in the city's downtown precinct.

The new stadium, designed in a shape of a flying dragon, will host all international matches and sports in the city.

Top-form Thanh Hoa continue domination

Thanh Hoa has turned in another commanding performance in this year’s V-League season, edging past hosts Hung Vuong An Giang 2-1 in their fifth-round clash on February 15 to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.

Thanh Hoa began the game with great confidence against underdogs Hung Vuong An Giang, who lagged far behind at the bottom of the provisional standings, without a single goal scored in their previous three matches.

The opening minutes saw several scoring chances created by the guests, but none of them were successfully converted.

It was not until the 41st minute that Thanh Hoa broke the deadlock with a skillful left-footed strike from Nastja Ceh.

After the break, An Giang came back strongly with mounting attacks, creating several opportunities to equalise the score but ultimately failing to finish.

The hosts’ wastefulness was punished in the 82nd minute as they conceded a second goal. Sunday Emmanuel took his teammate’s pass in stride and fired in a close-range shot to double Thanh Hoa’s advantage.

Their last-minute efforts brought An Giang back into the match with a successful penalty kick by Thanh Binh, but could not save the hosts from suffering a 1-2 loss.

The narrow victory earned Thanh Hoa three more points and consolidated their position on top of the provisional standings with 13 points, while Hung Vuong An Giang remained mired at the bottom with just one point after four games.

Another host, QNK Quang Nam, suffered defeat this round, losing 3-5 to Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Hanoi T&T crushed Vicem Hai Phong 5-2 on home soil to climb to second on the standings with nine points.

SHB Da Nang drew 2-2 with Quang Ninh Coal, while XM The Vissai Ninh Binh had to share points with Dong Tam Long An with the same score.

Becamex Binh Duong tasted their first victory of this year’s V-League season after trouncing Dong Nai 4-1 on home field yesterday.

Vietnam invests US$ 200,000 for swimmer Anh Vien

The Ministry of Defence, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training as well as a number of organisations have invested a combined US$200,000 (VND4 billion) for the training programme of swimmer Anh Vien in the US.

The investment aims to help Anh Vien and her coach Anh Tuan to improve her skill and win a gold medal at the 17th Asian Games 2014 (Asiad 2014), which will be held in Incheon, the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won three gold medals and two records in the SEA Games and will be representing Vietnam for the swimming competition in the 2016 Olympics.

The young swimmer is honored as one of the most impressive athletes in Vietnamese sports in 2013. Despite being so young, Anh Vien has won 145 medals in local and international competitions.

Davis Cup tournament: Vietnam lose 2-3 to Pakistan

The Vietnam tennis team failed to advance to the next round of the 2014 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone II qualifiers, losing 2-3 to on February 16 in Da Lat.

Young Vietnamese player Nguyen Hoang Thien, who defeated Muhammad Abid 3-0 on February 14, did not perform well yesterday against Pakistan's Number Two, Aqeel Khan.

Thien got off to a slow start with ineffective serves, while the Pakistani squad’s most experienced player took advantage to notch a 3-0 win, as he had previously done against Ngo Quang Huy on the first day, to give his team a 3-1 lead.

The second singles match saw competition between two young players: Trinh Linh Giang and Pakistan’s Yasir Khan. Both players looked comfortable from the outset and played an attractive match. Vietnam’s Giang used his advantage in physical strength to overpower Yasir Khan 2-0, sealing the second victory for the Vietnamese team.

Unfortunately, Giang’s victory was not enough. After four singles matches and one doubles match, Pakistan defeated Vietnam 3-2, advancing to the next round. Vietnam will face Sri Lanka in the play-off round in April to avoid elimination.